Adventures of a Funloving, Reluctant Villain & Shy, Merciless Hero
by Sirius-Black-is-not-dead
Summary: A collection of a series of oneshots of my own personal characters in the DCUO and their interactions and lives as heroes and villains. Collaborations with AzhureSapphire and evolution-500 with their own DCUO characters.
1. Profiles

**Here are our cast!**

**Photos of Silver Osprey and Thistle Fateema can be found at my DA account- Kanowakitashi.**

**Profiles**

Name: **Silver Osprey**

Secret Identity: **?  
**

Gender: **Female**

Age: **24**

Eye Color: **Hazel with outer blue rim**

Hair Color and Style: **Pixie Cut Light brown, Almost Red Hair**

Skin: **Caucasian Youthful**

Species: **Humanoid**

Wardrobe: **She wears a full domino mask. Her oufit is a fourth world armor with biker shoulder pads, robotic gloves and a paramilitary belt.**

** She also has jah kir leggings, urban slick shoes, and a jah kir cape.**

** Her emblem is a silver bird.**

** Her primary/main color is Black armor, secondary color is dark purple, and the outline in her outfit and color of her emblem are silver.**

Affiliation: **Hero**

Mentor: **Officially her mentor is Batman. However, she was trained from a group of heroes and Nightwing. She became good friends with Nightwing and was accepted as an associate of the Batclan-although well on her way to becoming adopted into the fold.**

Occupation: **She has a part-time job at Daniel's Café in Gotham and works at Flugelheim Museum as an intern, but her true passion is being a superhero.**

Family: **Her parents are deceased. No siblings.**

Place of Origin: **Gotham, **  
Residence: **Gotham, East End**

Likes: **Fruit and honey foods, she also enjoys people watching, art, and volunteering.**

Dislikes: **Being a burden and being unable to help others.**

Hobbies: **She also has a talent to composing songs on the fly.**

Friends: **Mystic Meru, Nightwing, Lynn Burns, and Daniel Blu. Loosely acquainted with other Batclan and members of the Justice League.**

Enemies: **All villains. Her most despised enemy is Killer Croc.**

Status: **Single**

A photo of Silver Osprey can be found at DA. [kanowakitashi. deviantart art/Silver-Osprey-373028468?q=gallery%3Akanowakitashi&qo=1 ]

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Name: **Thistle Fateema**

Secret Identity: **?**

Gender: **Female**

Age: **22**

Eye Color: **Topaz**

Hair Color and Style: **Long, Dark Brown Hair in a Braid**

Skin: **Demonic; light red skin with purple armor**

Species: **Humanoid**

Wardrobe: **Lena has a dark blue and yellow jah kir outfit with heeled shoes and remora leggings.**

** She has a druid shoulder guard, lunar gloves, fourth world belt, and Light yellow trench coat. When she wants to change up her outfit she will wear a dark blue jar kir cape with a silver blue edgings.**

** Her emblem is a light yellow pentacle.**

** Her primary/main color is light yellow armor, secondary color is cloud (almost silver) blue, and the color of her trench coat and (occasional) full domino mask is a light yellow.**

Affiliation: **Villain**

Mentor: **Circe**

Occupation: **None; receives compensation from Hall of Doom**

Family: **Parents and brother are deceased. Doesn't like to talk about her past.**

Place of Origin: **Gotham, Park Row (AKA. Crime Alley)**  
Residence: **Has a secret base in Gotham, but has a bas in Metropolis (****614 Watercove Avenue****).**

Likes: **Junk food and coffee. She loves to flirt and be affectionate with people.**

Dislikes: **Being restricted and limited by people's 'moral codes'.**

Hobbies: **Being mischievous and annoying Silvy.**

Friends: **Frenemies with Silver Osprey and Sister Mummy (dubious friendship at best), and rather close with Mystic Meru. She is not very close with other villains in her circle**.

Enemies: **As of now, Lena does not have any ultimate enemy of the sort. However, anyone that will be against her in anything she wants to do is her present enemy.**

Status: **Single**

Photo of Thistle can be found at DA. [kanowakitashi. deviantart art/Thistle-Fateema-373030473]

* * *

Name: **Mystic Meru**

Secret Identity: ?

Gender: **Female**

Age: **25**

Eye Color: **Gold**

Hair Color and Style: **Silvery Blue; Long**

Skin Color: **Pale**

Species: **Human**

Wardrobe: **Full body suit w/wings**

Affiliation: **Hero**

Mentor: **Wonder Woman**

Occupation: **N/A**

Family: **Mom, dad, three sisters, one brother**

Place of Origin: **USA**

Residence: **6014 Watercove, Metropolis**

Likes: **To make a difference**

Dislikes: **Rudeness**

Hobbies: **Reading, writing, get to together w/friends/ family**

Friends: **Budding, Silver Osprey; Thistle Fateema**

Enemies: **To Be Determined**

Status: **Single**

* * *

At the request of Evolution-500, I have taken down Malecoda and Lupo's profiles-if you have any questions or comments about these characters I encourage you to contact Evolution-500. Thanks! :)

* * *

Name: **Sister Mummy**

Secret Identity: **Vanessa Masters**

Gender: **Female**

Age:** 31**

Eye Color: **Violet (Formerly green)**

Hair Color and Style: **Black and flowing, tied into bun when in hooded get up. Formerly blonde, before Xobyte infection.**

Skin Color: **Midnight blue, peach colored when human.**

Species:** Human/Homo Magi**

Wardrobe: **Thigh high boots, black unitard on her torso, long black glvoes on arms reaching to shoulders, :/ www. youtube watch?v=ny-n99NIXCU 2:36 she wears a blue-black mask and a long blue hooded cloak, with the hood always over her head.**

Affiliation: **Dark Action Magic Girl. Magical Side**

Mentor: **Circe.**

Occupation: **Sorceress in training, gatherer of magical objects, interferer of Heroic rescues and Spy of Circe.**

Residence: **Crystal Lighthouse in Metropolis Bay, gift from Circe**.

Likes: **Booster Gold, Beast Boy, Circe, Klarion the Witch Boy (On a good Day) Cats, Birds, learning new spells, practicing new spells, gaining powerful artifacts. Creating dark crystals to corrupt human nature and turn them into Beastiemorphs, using human nature or pollution against humans. Childre. The color BLue and purple, Crystal balls and merfolk.**

Dislikes: P**ollution. Arrogant people. Obnoxious people. Those who mistreat their subordinates, women, children and animals. Klarion (At worst times) Joker. Harley Quinn. Supergirl. Marvel Jr. Batman (When he's controlling) Superman (When he just ASSUMES he's right about someone and jumps the gun)**

Hobbies: **"Playing mischievous tricks on heroes. Reading books. Staring at pictures of Booster Gold. Stalking booster Gold. Dropping off gifts to cheer up Beast Boy, whether he needs it or not. Spell casting, small mission accomplishing and so on.**

Friends: **Assorted Blood Members, Killer Frost, Captain Marvel, Talia a Ghul, Gargoyles, Ocean Master, Charybdis, Klarion the Witch Boy, Clayface, Icicle Jr. Chettah and assorted members of the magical and Villian Community.**

Enemies: **Black Adam, Parasite, Felix Faust, Trigon and Green Lanterns.**


	2. In Which We Introduce the Villainess

**A QUICK NOTE BY SBIND**

Hello everyone. It has been years since I have picked up writing again, but something about DCUO just makes me think it has the potential to be pretty good. So, here is the starter for my collection of one-shots from the characters I have created from the game.

I am open to all criticism and all reviews!

That said, I hope you enjoy my fics. More to come—eventually.

**Onto the story!**

* * *

For Thistle Fateema trying to desperately escape with her life from inside a Harvester ship was just another load of shit that made this day so much worse than it ordinarily would have been. Not for the first time that day Thistle couldn't help but wonder what she had done that day, nay, that week to deserve going through this hell of a situation.

Really.

Scarcely a week ago she would have laughed at the very thought of her becoming a sorcerer witch and becoming an apprentice to the Greek Witch Circe.

Oh, it just figured that she would become some demonic hybrid of evil and magic. What was once just an ordinary, if sarcastic and rather arrogant, woman now had to take a double take every time she went past a mirror to see that yes, that was her reflection and yes, she did look like some bizarre humanoid demonic wraith-like creature you would see in a B-grade fantasy movie.

The moment she first looked in the mirror after her 'maturation' she couldn't do anything but stare, her mind completely blank from the shock.

Not that she could really complain about her new appearance. She had to admit it had its practicality and looked rather nice after having time to process the changes. She had a dark purple armor-like coating over her still supple skin, which also happened to change to a red color for an odd, but fascinating harmony of colors. She had also noticed with fascination that she now how purple veins that happened to be connected with her new armor pieces.

It turned out that the biggest change she had to get used to was her drastic skin pigment change. She loved her new glowy light yellow, almost white, eyes and purple hair. Honestly, she was glad her drab brown hair was gone, she had always wanted the change it to an unusual color anyway.

Strangely enough, the changes didn't impact her routine too much. Although shooting 50 feet into the air when she did a small hop over a crack in the street sure startled her. It only took her two hours to learn how to hover back down, only for her to land on her face when she waved her arm, causing a purple ball to burst from her hands and hit a nearby tree. The force was enough to knock her back into a wall and stunned her long enough to fall the rest of the 7 feet to kiss the earth.

Magic sucked she decided.

But magic and flying were all that she really had going for her now, so she needed to train it. Her bathroom would surely thank her for training, especially after that mishap with her toothbrush and her magic deciding to set anything she touched into a ticking time bomb of bad luck. She still hadn't been able to replace that missing wall tile leading into the kitchen. Honestly, she tried to avoid going home for a while after that episode.

As she successfully landed a flying punch on a Brainiac Sentry and cast a Condemn on the Overseer, she mused over her new occupation as apprentice to an evildoer. Kids always dream about being a hero, receiving acknowledgment and becoming friends with the other heroes of Earth. Thistle was embarrassed to admit to herself that she had been such a child and often dreamed about becoming famous for her beauty and kick ass skills.

It wasn't until later on in life she began to gravitate away from the ideals of heroes. She couldn't be that selfless as to fight and get injured without some acknowledgement, thanks, or reward. One of her instinctive reactions was always to avoid injuries in confrontations and to avoid unnecessary confrontations if at all possible—not very reliable instincts for a hero that has to be in the front lines ready to give up their lives for others.

Plus, hospital rates were outrageous and the food sucked.

She was also aware of her other flaws that made it almost impossible to be a hero. For instance, her attitude would have made her a poor hero. She didn't have the proper objectivity that most of the well-known heroes of Earth have and she just cared too much about her life to dedicate it to people that wouldn't give a rats ass about her.

There was nothing fun about being the good guy. People would still look at you suspiciously for being different. People would take you for granted and take advantage of you whenever they can. Not only that, but you would be limited by what other people think about you that doing anything with your powers could cause a public backlash to permanently ground said hero.

At least as an independent force she could have the freedom and choice to not care what others and the mass general public would think of her. She wouldn't be tied down to strict rules and laws under the thumbs of corrupt politicians and law enforcers. Although she still had her reservations on learning to control her new power from people like Circe (you know, power trip with a large chip on her shoulder for the world and crazy?).

Still, the power driven woman with a taste for world domination was a tad less exhausting to deal with than what a concerned mentor would be. Circe was always too busy to take a true interest in her training and would leave conjured spirits and Bestiamorphs to help her discover and practice her abilities. When the time actual spells needed to be learned Circe gave practical demonstrations by using Thistle as a live target. Other than that she mostly just left Thistle alone to learn her powers and would only give her scathing comments if she did badly.

All in all, not a completely terrible situation, but she sure knew how to pick 'em, eh?

Thistle landed in the final chamber that separated her from freedom and paused at the Brainiac Ship Guardian flouting in the air surrounded by an entourage of lesser Brainiac machines.

"Leave foolish human. You cannot stop the conversion."

This was already a shitty day; just what else could go wrong?

"You're in, destroy whatever is connecting the gun to the ship." She heard Calculator from her ear piece.

She just had to jinx herself.

With no immediate exit off the ship possible Thistle gave a sigh and quick crack of her knuckles. Looking at the horde before her Thistle couldn't help but feel the stirring of excitement, she could feel her new, now familiar demonic nature compelling her to into violent and direct action against those that would stand in her way. All her control from escaping her captivity up to this point warred with her baser instinct for a challenge (another unfortunate side effect from her change).

Thistle gave a grin and decided to hell with being slow and taking her time, she needed to let loose all her frustration from the day anyhow. Besides, her blood sang for a fight with these machines, who was she to deny herself the exercise?

"Time to get busy!" With a wide grin she flew into the room.

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**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	3. AUTHOR NOTE 1

To an awesome reviewer!

First thing, "Collaborations with and their own DCUO characters" was an error on my part. I have been meaning to make a collaboration with a friend that also has a DCUO character, but I haven't heard from her in a while and I don't know her account off hand. I will make the change once I hear from her.

I will take your suggestion to heart, anything to make reading easier for others is always wonderful advice. I just looked at the chapter and apparently the divider I put was somehow deleted when this was published. (-_-u

Since you pointed out that sentence I am a tad embarrassed. I will make an update later to try and make it less awkward later.

Expect the second chapter soon; I just want to go over it again with a fine tooth comb.

Also, the next chapter will introduce my other character. The tone of the chapter will be different from the first chapter since she is a more intense and serious sort of character. I want to try and fit individual based chapters in a certain way, so if you notice the change that is the reason.

Thanks again for the review, I hope you enjoy newer chapters to come!


	4. In Which We Introduce the Heroine

Using my writers' creativity license privileges, I have changed up the events a tad to suit my story telling narrative. There isn't much humor in this chapter and you will quickly realize exactly why. Introducing the heroic Silver Osprey!

First thing I should get out of the way is I have no prior knowledge of the continuity of the DC Universe. I am taking all my knowledge from the DC Universe Online Wiki and borrow from other Wiki's as needed to try and remain in depth. If anyone catches something off or if I miss some something, I apologize and ask that they please let me know what is wrong and point me to where I can fix it (I don't have the time or resources to read the comics—I need summaries and other details).

I will make a description guide of how Silver Osprey and Thistle Fateema look like in an author note chapter soon. I have put a lot of effort into this and I hope you all enjoy it. Please R&R.

P.S. This chapter has been revised and should flow better. I got rid of a lot of that information throw up that was too distracting.

P.S.S. You guys rock.

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**CHAPTER 2: In Which We Introduce the Heroine Silver Osprey**

Silver Osprey was entirely silent as she listened to the legendary Dark Knight of Gotham City, her only actions of acknowledgement of her new orders was a swift nod before he cut the transmission and she pocket her PDA.

Without a hint of hesitation she leaped off of the Free Clinic Building in East End Gotham and glided to the street below. Effortlessly with an almost supernatural grace, she landed expertly on the back of a fallen Scarecrow goon (causing a loud groan of pain) and proceeded to run passed the stunned doctors nearby toward the nearest sewer manhole. Lifting up the cover she was assaulted by the powerful stench. The sewer smelled so rank that she could just barely resist the urge to gag. Briefly hesitating, she steeled herself and jumped into the hole.

Landing hard on the concrete she slowly stood up, taking a moment to right herself from the sudden impact. After a brief moment of a quick, but critical, look around her, she opened her PDA and pulled up the sewer system map and activated the tracking function to search for Batwoman's signal.

This was just another moment for Silver Osprey that made her muse on her new status as a hero.

_Much like so many other people, this incredible event enabled her to become something she never though possible, a real superheroine. A week ago when the event happened she initially believed that nothing had changed in her. She physically looked and felt the same. She didn't throw fireballs or have any supposed super strength. She couldn't run in blinding speeds and she couldn't fly. At the time she even thought that perhaps one of the tiny machines (exobytes she corrected herself) that she interacted with were defective._

_She had only discovered her new reflexes (being pushed off a building by a new villain and desperately grabbing at a 180 degree vertical wall while free falling and managing to actually catch herself on said building gave her a very bad case of vertigo and confusion for a few hours) when a representative of the Justice League located and contacted her. _

_What else could she answer but a 'yes'?_

_The next day she was blindfolded (which was far more uncomfortable an experience than she cared to admit) and taken to a base within an area of Gotham she didn't recognize._

_It was then that she was introduced to her idol, someone that would later become one of her best friends she would ever have and strong allies. The Titans' leader and the first Robin of Gotham, Nightwing._

_Most of the Titans were present as instructors and coaches for her group, as the group of new potential heroes stood in awe in the presence of extraordinary heroes, the team quickly explained what they hoped to make the group as fit and ready to fight the invasion as possible in one week and come out of the fight "without losing their spleens". During this brief moment, Silver Osprey could not help but feel the tiniest bit of like a fan girl for about 10 minutes (of which she was positive two others in her group did as well, just not hiding it as well as her). Although she couldn't help but notice that Raven kept giving her and three other novices strange looks, although she herself never gave an outward expression of her true feelings of elation._

_Belying their friendly and easy going faces, their training was anything but. If she never saw another tightrope or cannon again it would still be too soon._

Silver Osprey gave a small sign as she located Batwoman's signal. One hundred and twenty meters in, the map was also fairly elaborate. Finding her way would take a short while. Making her way through the sewers shouldn't be too hard if she didn't allow herself to become lost or distracted.

Cautiously, Silver Osprey proceeded to walk through the underground maze. Looking at the map on her PDA she gave a small grin as a memory came up. She remembered the time she needed help from Nightwing to learn how to use her PDA. The look on his face when he realized her communicator was far more advanced than his. His look of sheepish embarrassment as he approached Cyborg is something she will always remember—especially Cyborgs' obvious amusement.

She would never know when exactly they became friends (it was probably his bright outlook, his attitude and personality made him nearly impossible to hate). Perhaps it was the first night of sparring when she was struggling to get down from the ceiling?

Or the day he tied her up and ordered her to escape in three minutes before the rope snapped?

Perhaps the time when she ran through a timed obstacle course that included 15 yards of barb wire crawling fields while under enemy fire to retrieve a flag?

Or the time made her do summersaults on a tightrope while under fire? When she had to face her group four to one in a sparring match while handicapped of her abilities?

To think about it, he was a bit of a bastard and had really high expectations. Why the hell did she like him again?

Another memory flashed in her mind and Silver Osprey gave a small, shy smile. That's right. From that time…

However rough the training was, she did know that he was a good guy and excellent leader. She had to admit that being pushed so hard and rigorously had excellent results, she was now on her way to becoming her own hero. She was honored to have learned from him and his team.

_Although she didn't know it, what truly set her apart and drew Nightwing to her was her incredible empathy hidden beneath her stern expression. She would do anything she could to improve people's lives and go out of her way to help others. Small things like volunteering at a soup kitchen and hospitals was a past time for her, helping out in some small but meaningful way. However, in the back of her mind she would always whisper it was never truly enough. _

_That is, until now._

_Before she became Silver Osprey she never once believed that she could truly make a significant change in her home city of Gotham, at least the changes that it needed. She didn't have the ambition or tolerance to become a politician or public figure, and she wasn't a very strong speaker to have much influence. _

_Now as a hero, as the Silver Osprey, she had the power and training to truly make a difference. Fighting crime and injustice in the front lines, giving her all to help clean up her city of its infestations and curing it of the deadly rats and parasites poisoning Gotham._

Having been momentarily lost in her musing, she jumped when she hear a loud booming voice echo around her. Looking up from her PDA Silver Osprey's sank, there were fear gas barrels everywhere. Her gaze was drawn to a particular barrel; it was cracked.

Her eyes widened at the realization. It was only then did she notice how the smell in the air wasn't only the byproduct of waste. Her heart started to pound as she realized just what her inappropriate timing to thinking had just done to her. She went to hold her breath, but it was too late.

"Awwww. A new test subject. No need to breath deeply, even the smallest whiff of the fear gas will do the trick."

She could feel her heart pounding and her hands started to shake. She could feel herself start to sweat heavily and began hyperventilating. She felt her head become dizzy and began to feel disoriented. Wait! Did she see something move in the shadows? Why couldn't she move? She couldn't move! She had to get out!

No matter how hard she struggled against her conflicted body it wouldn't follow her commands. 'I can't die!' She thought, 'Let me go!'

"No. NO!" She screamed and collapsed to her knees. She knelt there, breathing heavily as she fought to control her body.

In. Out. Just breath-breath! Stop hyperventilating Osprey!

Wait. Didn't Nightwing say something about fear gas?

Who cares! She was so afraid! She needed to get out now! GET OUT!

She gasped on the group, her attempts at leveling her breathing taking too long to remain standing. She remembered what Nightwing told her group about Scarecrow as they reviewed the more noteworthy villains on an international scale.

_"One of the most dangerous rogues in Arkham, Jonathon Crane, AKA Scarecrow, is an expert psychologist and has a deep understanding of the human psyche. He developed a potent chemical gas that induces deep fear in those that breath in the toxin. Within a few seconds they will start to experience powerful hallucinations, develop strong physical responses of fear, and eventually drive its victims to insanity. However! When you take in the fear gas you cannot allow yourselves to panic! We will supply all of you with special antidotes in the event that you come face to face with Scarecrow. Remember, you cannot panic. The key to battling the toxin is your will."_

"NO!" She shouted, closing her eyes and gasping for air. She wanted out to fresh air from this sewer! NO, she had to help Batwoman! They were counting on her! No! She had to calm down! The key was her will.

She would regain control over her body. She refused to lose to fear.

Never again.

This fear was going to conquer her if she didn't do something fast. She could already feel her head become lightheaded from the stress and adrenaline. From the distinct small part of her brain, she was aware that her heart rate was accelerating too fast, if she couldn't calm down soon she would experience a heart attack soon. She would also start to experience powerful hallucinations soon-could it be minutes? What was it...

_We will supply all of you with special antidotes in the event that you come face to face with Scarecrow. Remember, you cannot panic. The key to battling the toxin is your will._

That's it! The antidote!

Slowly she reached for her belt, but just before opening the precious vial she was shoved hard into the wall. In pain she dropped the unopened vial and it rolled into the opposing wall.

"Help me. Save me." She heard the voices call out to her. The voices sounded distorted, as if being spoken through a filter. It sounded ghostly and scarily familiar. She shivered, she was terrified of ghosts. There were just so many she wanted to avoid.

No! Don't think about it!

She gave a leveled gasp, she managed to get her breathing in some form of control again. She could feel her legs now, they were no longer paralyzed, although they felt like two tons of lead.

"Heeheehee." She heard the distorted voices echo around her. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to her feet, squinting into the dark corners. The shifting shadows seemed to form before her very eyes into many henchmen of Scarecrow's.

Shit. The hallucinations started.

"Help me. SAVE ME!"

They attacked.

Silver Osprey absentmindedly leapt into battle, performing Axe kicks and precise punches to the hallucinations, each vanishing as she made contact with them. However, to no avail as new ones formed to replace them-there were twice as many now than there were a few minutes ago. Taking deliberately leveled breathes, Silver Osprey dodged the attacks. Each shadow was undaunted by her abilities, approaching her with zombified features with a mockery of a grin, groaning and lunging at her with their bare hands. All the while the voices were crying for help, echoing in her ears and piercing her already shaking resolve.

Could she really help anyone like this? So weak as to fall to her own incompetence? Silver Osprey forced her horror to the back of her mind, it was the chemicals talking-she needed to fight it!

With an agile flip Silver Osprey's back hit the wall.

She was cornered.

She could feel the panic rising within her as more and more shadows formed into enemies. All approached her with wails and groans, a parody of a human. These were monsters.

'This isn't working!' She screamed to herself, literally beginning to shake with fear as her control continually fell away from her. 'I need to do something. I can't keep this up, I'm too slow like this. I need to get my control back—the vial!'

With a shuttering breath Silver Osprey chanced a glance in the area where she dropped the vial. It was still there! There was a chance!

But until that chance, she thought to herself, returning her gaze to the approaching army. 'I need to do something. I'm hallucinating, but not all of them are just phantoms. I could sense it before and I am getting hit, so there must be a real one in there somewhere. I need to stop the real ones—but how?'

A moment that Silver Osprey would have facepalmed over if she were in her right mind occurred, her other abilities-

Crowd control.

That was it!

With an idea in mind, she focused her body and gathered the rest of her will to feel her second nature acrobatics take control. Hopefully unseen by the true enemies, she surreptitiously reached into the back pocket of her belt and pulled out her distraction.

Once the moaning shadows were close enough, she threw down a smoke pellet and quickly held her breath. Enemies vanished into nothing, but through the white noise of crying she heard the faint sound of a falling object. They must have been approaching her, this was her chance!

Hidden by the smoke, she quickly began to climb the wall and used the wall to jump over the crowd to the opposing wall with the vial. Only a few precious seconds left before the smoke cleared.

She lunged at the vial and was mindful of the surprised shouts behind her amongst the near screaming. One must have seen her jump over them-Three seconds!

She reached the vial! Two seconds!

With an abandon contrary to her typically collected nature, she quickly popped open the vial (one second) and swallowed the mixture. If she remembered correctly, she desperately hoped she did, then the mixture should start to work immediately.

She spun around, just in time to see two Poisoners staggering out of the vanishing smoke and an unconscious one on the ground. The shadows were a blur.

Feeling a renewed sense of rage and humiliation, she did not give them a chance to gather themselves. She shot out a zip tie attack, entangling both in a zip-line cable. Without a moment's hesitation, she kicked their feet from under them and gave a merciless punch to each of their faces, knocking them both unconscious.

She leaned against the wall to catch her breath, furiously berating herself for being caught unawares. By criminals-villains!

She shook in rage, the effects of the toxin gradually receding as she threw the tied up bodies against a wall harshly. A pained groan escaped the unconscious Poisoner.

Silver Osprey wanted to hurt them-kill them.

Feeling the effects of the toxin fading, she shook her head and dismissed her thoughts. Time was of the essence. Batwoman needed backup.

Giving herself a final minute to calm herself, Silver Osprey turned to enter further into the maze of the sewers.

As she walked down the lonely corridors, the last of her previous excitement was pushed back to make way for focus and concentration, it was time for stealth. No more screw ups, she vowed.

Remembering her Illusionary training with Raven, Silver Osprey summoned her powers to envelop her and produce powerful suggestions to others that no one was there and no one could see her for a temporary invisibility.

This would only last a short while, she recalled, at her current level and mental strength it would last only ten minutes—there was little time to lose.

Still concentrating on maintaining her power, she could almost feel the power settle onto her skin like slippery oil. She would never be completely used to that, she thought and resisted the urge to wipe away at her skin to banish the sensation.

As she walked down the path, she pulled her PDA. She was close to Batwoman and Scarecrow's location, it was only another 30 meters. She took a left turn and looked up to come face to face with two giants.

Well, not in the sense of being a hundred feet tall obviously. She estimated that these particular muscle heads were almost eight feet tall and judging by the muscle mass they weighted approximately 400 Ibs. Looking at those muscles Silver Osprey couldn't help but imagine them around her neck and remembered those cartoons that would show the characters squeezing a banana until the inside flew out of the peel.

Wonderful image.

"This whole place is filled with fear gas. Get those leaking barrels out of there and clear the air."

Perfect timing as always Oracle.

She didn't have time to duck before one of them threw a leaking barrel at her. In her hesitation she had accidentally wavered in her power and allowed a brief wave of her power to visibly move under one of the few lights in the sewers.

Her surprise at their attack made her drop the suggestion she was maintaining completely, enabling her to be fully revealed for both to see.

'Well shit.' She thought.

"Time to die!"

She did not dare to waver. She was only 15 meters away from Batwoman, the control mechanism for the door behind them was just on the wall. She could still do this!

'They didn't look too smart', she reasoned, 'so it should be easy to outwit them.'

Using her acrobatic skills and illusionary powers, she leapt and dodged outside their reach and intently observed their fighting patterns and actions.

'Both are identical, not too many distinctions to make out. Both charge and rely on powerful punches and attacks to try knock me down. Very slow, but powerful. I have to disable one and focus on take one down at a time. Time to get to work.'

She threw three batarangs at the charging duo, hitting them in the chest and briefly surprising them to a short pause. There!

She leapt up close to both of them and performed telekinesis on right one, lifting him into the air. She turned her attention to the other that was just reaching out for her and used Psychic Resonance to knock him back. She then used a cartwheel kick to the flouting villain—knocking him flat on the ground.

To give herself room Silver Osprey used acrobatics to climb onto the nearest wall and continue upwards as both below her looked ready to tear her in two.

'Ranged attacks. Spitting out fear gas (how on Earth?) and throwing barrels. Their intelligence is simply revolutionary.' She thought dryly, feeling no pity or mercy for the creatures that lingered under her wall. 'Time to end this!'

She let go of the wall and glided over them to the other side of the room. Turning she saw both grouped close together headed her way, even shoving at one another in their eagerness. Patiently she waited until they were close enough. A little closer—now!

She leaped onto the left guy and performed telekinesis, tossing him into the wall like a rag doll. She then focused on the right guy and let out another telekinesis, this time keeping him suspended in the air. 'Got him!'

Ignoring the foul stench of the giant (do they live in the sewers, oh god), she performed a series of jabs and kicks in the critical points that she could reach in the short minute she had. With a final jab on the back of his skull, he was unconscious before he even hit the ground. Staggering up, the last giant saw her down the other and let out a loud roar. 'Great', she thought with a grimace, her only advantage to sneaking up to the Scarecrow without drawing attention to herself was a completely wasted effort.

Undeterred by the hiccup in her plan, Silver Osprey gritted her teeth and stood her ground, patiently waiting for the opportune moment to strike as the giant prepared to charge at her. 'I just need one minute'. She thought and got into position. 'My cover is blown, so I cannot afford a screw up before I help Batwoman, it is now or never!'

He charged.

It was when he was close enough to her that she could just smell his putrid breath and the same foul body odor that she let out a telekinetic push, violently pushing him into the same wall of the last giant, cracking it. Briefly stunned from the force of the push, Silver Osprey made a great jump kick to knock him out. However, the giant was more resilient than she accounted for and just barely managed to dodge her kick to his head and caught her foot in his large hand.

'Shit!' She thought, on the verge of panicking. With a loud roar of rage, the giant threw her, causing her back and head to bang against the wall. Hard.

Falling to the ground she was stunned from the sudden impact. Her actions were noticed by the giant, which gave a satisfied growl and approached her still body.

'This is it,' she thought, 'This is my final shot, I can't afford for him to get close again'.

As she watched him approach, Silver Osprey got an idea. This was her last act; she had to make it count.

The giant approached her, its posture relaxed as she lay on the ground. It has won! Now, it was finally time to kill the puny pathetic creature that hurt it and its' brother.

Uncaring, or just too used to its environment, the giant stomped to her without looking at its feet. Silver Osprey kept her breathing calm as she watched him draw nearer, almost holding her breath as she waited for him to come a little closer.

Step.

Almost there.

Step.

A little more.

He stepped into a large puddle a few feet away from her.

Not wasting a moment, Silver Osprey pushed up and threw out her hidden batarang at his head. Seeing the tool, the giant didn't think before catching it. Examining the strange object it let out an almost amused chuckle at her efforts. However, Silver Osprey only grinned, without fear she clicked a spot in her glove, causing the batarang in his hands to make a crackling noise at the sudden bursts of electricity. With a loud bellow of pain, the giant dropped the batarang into the puddle, causing it to become electrified and electrocuting him. With a final howl, the giant fell unconscious and the sparks vanished.

"That," She said as she gasped for breath, slowly standing up and wincing, "is exactly why you don't mess with me." Wincing, she clinically began checking herself over for her injuries and evaluating the damage. She quickly pulled her hand away from her chest in pain; she had touched a broken rib.

"Damnit." She briefly entertained the idea of getting herself patched up before giving up on the idea. She couldn't leave the sewers until she found Batwoman, she didn't know the extent of her injuries well enough to start treating herself, she was in an enemy infested territory with an unknown number of hostiles, and there was just no time to stop even to treat her wounds. It had already taken too long for her to reach this point anyway—Batwoman needed her and the Scarecrow needed to be captured.

She quickly looked at the leaking barrels she carefully examined them, wary of breathing in the gas again. Fortunately, there were only three leaking barrels. Setting herself to work she managed to stop the leaks and move all the barrels under the sewer manhole, carefully maneuvering the barrels to prevent puncturing her lung.

Still, she wished that she could at least take a damned pain killer. It hurt like hell.

"All barrels in the sewer are accounted for and awaiting pickup. There are also a few guys down here, two of them big ones further in. Resuming mission."

"Good work. We are sending someone out, get going."

She was not entirely surprised to hear such a cold and hurried response. Oracle didn't seem to like her too much for whatever reason. They might have to work on that, but for now it didn't seem to affect their performance either way so she ignored it.

Relieved, Silver Osprey ran back to the room with the unconscious giants. She quickly tied them up with a zip tie and approached the electronic lock on the wall for the sealed door. It was a simple lock lever.

'That is anticlimactic.' She thought and pulled the handle down, releasing the lock.

Silver Osprey ran into the now accessible room to see Batwoman squirming and writhing on the ground in a cloud of fear gas. Surrounding her were a group of Poisoners and the Scarecrow himself, some of this crows flying around his general area. Batwoman was breathing hard and visibly sweating, giving the occasional shout of fear. Silver Osprey gritted her teeth, 'This isn't good.'

Scarecrow, having expected company, grinned at her from his spot next to Batwoman.

"More patients, excellent. This one," he pointed to Batwoman, "is already lost her grip on her senses. So let us begin your therapy shall we?" said Scarecrow, "Fear is such an appetizing color."

Looking between Scarecrow and Batwoman, Silver Osprey considered her situation. It was time to save Batwoman; failure was not an option.

With a new plan forming and a renewed resolve, Silver Osprey took her katars and charged, the defeat of her enemy commencing.

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**Please let me know what you think!**


	5. In Which A Hero Meets a Villain

**I am pleased to know that some people really are interested in my little story arc, I will try my best to make it good for all of you that were so kind as to follow it and review it-you people rock my world and make me the happiest person alive!  
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**I will try to work on Chapter 4 soon and begin writing when I can. It may be a while compared to my other chapters, but please be patient. I want to make the best chapters I can and make it enjoyable for everyone. As always, I accept all criticism and comments how to improve my fic. I will read every review and comment and do my best to apply your criticism to make my newer chapters better.**

**With that said, enjoy the fic and please be kind as to leave a review! :)**

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**CHAPTER 3: In Which Silver Osprey attempts to arrest Thistle**

'There is just something so satisfying about beating the shit out of these bucket of bolts.' Thistle thought, grinning in pure delight as she slammed into a Subjugator so hard its head was ripped from its torso.

'One of life's' great pleasures had to be ripping the scrap metal bastards into pieces', she thought as she dodged an attack by a Spark and gave a mighty kick in a counter attack for the fifth robot in a row. 'For a global invasion by an alien, robotic armada and their numerous infantries, they really don't spice up the experience of beating their asses do they?'

It was true. For being a marching army set on concurring the world the foot soldiers didn't seem to collectively learn or adapt to the ways of fighting the newer heroes. Oh, she wasn't complaining—in fact it suited her just fine. It made it much easier to use the bots for target practice and to be a convenient source for releasing tension. It made no sense that such a brilliant AI like Brainiac never enabled a better AI for the foot soldiers, but that is what she supposed the Overseer was for.

Although it was suspicious, Thistle didn't care to really think about it too deeply. She was one of those people that just went with the flow of things and dealt with things as they came. If there really was any nefarious purpose to keeping the drones dull with hardly enough programming to pass as a microwave oven then what position was she in to do anything about it now?

At any rate Thistle was satisfied with the current situation within Gotham city. If there was any place that was (ironically) safer than Gotham then it must be the Pluto. Who would have imagined that Gotham, one of the worst cities in the United States for its infamous crime rates and mob organizations would have been the best managed and organized city to defend and contain the advancement of the Brainiac troops? It was all thanks to the network of heroes, villains, and (with great surprise) the police forces within Gotham that actually managed to come to an unspoken agreement to fight the invasion hot spots as a priority before each other.

Maybe law enforcement _was_ good for something after all (for being lazy, corrupted asshats).

Of course all bets were off elsewhere in Gotham. Shit, Scarecrow decided to be a douche and let out his gases near the Free Clinic (someplace that even the villains and criminals of Gotham hesitate to attack), Bane is doing his illegal shipment operation at the docks, Poison Ivy at the Gardens doing her thing, and who the fuck knows what the hell the Joker is doing.

The point was that in hot spots both heroes and villains, old and new, will drop whatever vendetta they have with each other to fight a common enemy. It was the unspoken agreement that everyone seemed to know and follow.

As a result, Gotham became Thistle's ideal place for fighting for the sake of fighting; hence her presence in Gotham tonight. One part to train herself and two parts making nice money on the side from selling the broken or scraped parts.

'Whatever', she thought as she finished the last robot of the infantry at the East End Invasion Zone; in the corner of her eye another super-something brew her attention, looking around for another enemy. 'I feel much better now'_._

Thistle stretched her arms as she rose into the air, proving to herself and to any others around that her flying now completely under her control. Hearing her back pop and feeling the wave of relief Thistle gave a moan of pleasure.

"Ahhhh. That felt really good." From the corner of her eye she could see the other fighter staring at her with wide eyes. With a grin Thistle gave the other fighter a sultry look, setting her posture in such a way that left no room for doubt as to what she was offering. The other blushed cutely before stomping away with a huff.

Thistle snorted, they just didn't know what they were missing.

Well, with her only other source of entertainment gone it was time for her to go. With another stretch Thistle gave a sigh, she could really go for a cup of coffee from the Daniel's cafe a block away right about now.

Her impulsiveness getting the best of her (as was often usual from her), she flew above the buildings to reach the shop. She made it their just in time to see a police officer exit the shop before the open sign was flipped to closed.

Thistle's eyes narrowed; drat. She wanted her coffee! She deserved a cup for the things she had to put up with today! So what if most of the work she was doing today was cursing Vanguards and stealing spell books? Did Circe even _care_ how tough those Vanguards were? Nooooooooo. When Thistle reported her mission as complete she just gave a dismissive snort before ordering her corrupt the souls of civilians and beating up "arrogant" civilians.

Which was another story for another time.

Regardless, today was awful and she wasn't going to be stopped from getting her coffee just because the shop was closed.

With a grin Thistle landed softly a short ways behind the cop that had exited the shop, outstretched her hand and murmured a spell. The cop froze in place before nervously looking between his left and right sides.

'Bingo_'._ Thistle thought before calling out to the rookie officer before her. With a gulp, the rookie turned around.

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Jerry was a decent man that just lived from paycheck to paycheck every other week. He had a decent job as a newly hired patrol officer fresh from the police academy in Metropolis (although he was a native Gothamite, it was less expensive in Metropolis and his scholarship from LexCorp gave more money to students attending private, public or trade institutions in Metropolis).

Jerry didn't consider himself a bad guy or that great of a guy. He was just average, living life in a monotonous cycle day to day with little to no expectations of his future. The move from Metropolis to Gotham didn't make any hiccup in his cycle and only seemed to serve making him that much more of a wallflower in crowds or crowded rooms than before.

His day wasn't very noteworthy much to his disappointment. Most of the day since he first clocked in he had been hearing reports and news broadcasts of renewed trouble from super villains and exploits by the superheroes. He waited the entire day to run into one of the hundreds of new heroes (or criminals and villains) that was in Gotham that day, eagerly waiting to see something different to his normal day.

Of course his life wasn't exciting enough to attract the slightest hint of heroes, so in depression and disappointment Jerry decided he needed a hot cup of coffee to improve his mood.

It was only when he exited Daniel's coffee shop that Jerry suddenly had the feeling of his body becoming warm and a pleasant tingle. Immediately, he also felt as though he were being watch. Incredibly freaked out, Jerry almost fell over in disbelief when he heard someone call out for "Mr. Officer". Turning around incredibly slowly and curious, Jerry couldn't contain the automatic gawk of his jaw.

The most gorgeous blonde haired bikini clad (double D cup size, he thought absentmindedly) woman he had ever seen was walking to him with the most seductive blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Hello, officer."

Oh dear god, her voice was **sin** in sound form. His hand trembled as she walked closer.

"I was hoping you could help me?" Her smile was perfect, not a misplaced tooth or yellow stain anywhere.

"H-h-h-h-help?" Oh, why does his stuttering have to return now!? Holy shit she was standing right in front of him. His palms felt sweaty and he felt his hand begin to slack.

"Why yes Mr. Officer." She gave him a coy look. "You see; my car broke down a block away. I called for assistance, but they said they wouldn't be here for another twenty minutes." She twirled a bit of her hair with her left hand, placing her right on his chest-lightly rubbing in gentle circles. He gave a visible shiver.

"So I went to the nearest coffee shop to get a drink, but I had just missed them before they closed. I noticed you leaving and…" She took another step closer, releasing her hair from her fingers to place her hand on his shoulder. He could see the barely visible freckles on her face.

"I'm so sorry to ask." She said, moving her left hand slowly to touch his neck, making his body shiver from the sudden chill of his upper body. "But, could I please have your coffee? I'm so _thirsty._"

Jerry gave a whimper.

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'I take it back, magic rocks. It sucked before, now it is the best!' Thistle thought pleased and drank a large gulp of the hot treat. It was perfectly made, light and sweet with a hint of roast flavor.

That was too easy.

"Do you always place spells on innocent people, _**villain**_?" Came a voice above Thistle.

Thistle looked to the building rooftop to her right and saw a costumed female. Must be a new hero, she doesn't look familiar to her.

She took a drink.

"Well, hello there." Thistle gave an amiable wave, causing the female hero above her to give her a rather frightfully dirty look. "It is a beautiful night out. The moon is full, wonderful breeze, and a nice cup of coffee to enjoy it all." She took another sip, causing the female above her to visibly grit her teeth.

"You know, for an upstart you have certainly built a name for yourself." The hero said dryly, causing Thistle to grin at Silver Osprey; gleefully aware of the annoyance she was causing the hero and enjoying every moment of it.

"Why thank you, I aim to please." Silver Osprey scowled and gave her best glare, which curiously seemed to barely phase Thistle. She gave the hero before her a curious look, "I seem to be at a disadvantage. Who are you?"

"You are under arrest."

Thistle raised an eyebrow, "Ignoring my question are you?"

"..."

"Oh, how _mysterious! _You intrigue me, hero. However, I can't help but ask—how? Unless you are affiliated with the police (which I have a hard time believing as Gotham considers its heroes as vigilantes), I don't see how you can have the power or authority to arrest me."

"You are coming with me."

"You are like a broken record, you know that?"

"Remain silent and surrender yourself."

Thistle raised an eyebrow, "What for? I haven't done _anything_ illegal."

Silver Osprey jumped from the roof, landing in front of Thistle. She gave a snort, "I would call casting magic on an police officer without their expressed consent as assault. Not to mention actively assaulting civilians in Metropolis and the theft of their souls."

"Just try to find an entry in the Constitution that said using magic on someone is illegal. You're stretching and you know it."

Thistle grinned; she could swear that she heard the adorable and mysterious hero before her growling in frustration. Oh, this was going to be great! When would be the next time she would find such an adorable and intriguing playmate like the unfortunate heroine that just tried to arrest her?

So what if she messed with that rookie cops head and took his coffee? It was his own fault for not being smart enough to know when he is being messed with and it was his fault entirely that he was carrying her favorite flavor of coffee. It was like he was begging her to come and take it from him. So, as a favor she kindly lifted the liquid off his hands—he was quite eager to give it to her so it wasn't forcibly taken. It was freely given; hence it was not stolen.

Besides, the cop and the hero should be thanking her! After all, she was kind enough to use her sorcery on the man thereby giving him valuable experience of how it feels to be under the influence of magic. He would just be an unfortunate moron if he didn't learn anything from this experience. Plus, those people in Metropolis were just an unfortunate part of her orders—once those demons are vanquished they would return to their bodies non-the-wiser to their theft.

"Besides, the officer gave me the coffee of his own free will. Even if you prove it he wasn't in command of his own mind it would be petty theft and he wasn't harmed." Thistle said innocently, taking another sip. Silver Osprey was silent, but the air around her seemed to drop in temperature. "Those civilians in Metropolis were mistaken, I never hit any of them or did them any harm. If you recall, they said they were attacked by a creature."

"You're infamous summon."

"Prove it was."

"Non consented mental influence is a crime from a meta. Inappropriate use of magic to commit assault and theft is worthy of a jail sentence up to ten years. You are coming with me."

They stared each other down silently, Thistle's eyes amused and challenging, Silver Osprey's disgusted and accusing.

The next moment they had their weapons out, back to back as Brainiac forces quickly surrounded them. What a time for them to develop stealth.

"Hmmm. I can see fifteen on my side, Sparks and Subjugators."

"Seventeen. Same."

"So, after we play a little with them, how about we duke it out and winner buys the other a cappuccino?"

"Keep dreaming. You're still under arrest."

Thistle gave a wide grin; this was going to be fun. _Let the games begin_.

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**Please be kind as to let me know what you think! :)**


	6. Interlude 1: Thistle's Moral Dilemma

**Here is another somewhat serious short with a little more insight into Thistle. There will be far less humor in this short than in the previous chapters, but I promise to bring back more humor later in response to a review by guest. I will aim to bring back more dry humor into the Thistle chapters and incorporate it more into chapters with Thistle and Silver Osprey together.**

**Next chapter will introduce Mystic Meru! An OC from AzhureSapphire. This one will be a long time in coming so I hope you will be patient with me. I am still planning out my story and building a purely unique adventure with the DCUO.**

**Like always, I hope you enjoy the story and leave a review!**

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**INTERLUDE 1: IN WHICH THISTLE FACES A MORAL DILEMMA**

Do you know that exact moment when you just stop and think to yourself, "What the fuck am I doing and why the hell am I doing it?"

Thistle frequently had that sentiment during the course of her young life, but was more inclined to conveniently forget the second half of that thought, finding herself more concerned about what she was doing than _why_ exactly she was doing it. The inner adventurer in her was always ready to do something spontaneous and crazy. As one can imagine, she was always into some form of mischief.

But damn, was this shit _messed up._

Thistle liked to think of herself as a fairly good person, you know? The kind that buys girl scout cookies **(ignoring the fact she hates the girl scouts and just wanted those damned cookies that makes everyone crave them—she swore that they contained heroin and the girl scouts were out for world domination through their products)** or make a charitable donation for the Metropolis Homeless Project **(despite the fact that most of that money will go to the pocket of some businessman that would then use that money for their own ends rather than help support the sick and needy)**.

Even under the threat of torture, she would never admit she still hoped it went to the project and not to some crummy businessman. The good Samaritan buried deep within her still figured that there was _some_ good left in the world despite so much evidence to the contrary. Hell, she really respected that Wayne guy for the good his tech company does in its donations to help the poor. Despite being some airhead playboy he is the owner of one of the most competitive and richest companies in the world and actually showed some evidence of caring for his city.

She respected that, even if people like him were often rich douche bags that paid someone to tie their shoelaces than lift their hand up from wanking to their own reflection or their bank account numbers.

Yea, she had some issues with rich assholes.

Anyway, people that steal money from donations to help the poor and needy are douche bag that should be set on fire. Hell, real justice would be if he or she were arrested for doing drugs or embezzling, the miserable sack of wasted human skin.

What was her point again?

Oh yeah!

She did good things and was fairly sure that she was good, just that some of her actions were muddled. So what if some of her deeds never amounted to much or really helped anyone in the end? Her point was that she did do stuff that benefited others, so therefore she was a good person.

(So thinks the one that once set a tree on fire in the local park because her boyfriend was with another girl in said tree. **Ohhhhhhh, so that's how it is? The miserable maggot was cheating on me! He didn't have siblings and that floozy was sitting too close to him!** … … … **No I don't have a split personality now **_**put away that tranquilizer!**_)

Ahem.

So what if she had done some crazy and borderline questionable stuff in the past? This was a whole new level of fucked up that for a moment Thistle wondered if perhaps this time was going a step too far beyond what she could stomach.

Well. That and cheesy chilidogs, but this was a close second.

Thistle looked at the glowing soul in her hand and observed it like one would with an ugly, but strangely fascinating snow globe.

"So," Thistle wondered aloud, "this is a soul?" Without hesitation, she tossed the ball in the air, ignoring the panicked sound of her summon whose work she was so dangerously close to ruining. Not even glancing at her summons or even the eagle spread male body next to her. If she ignored it, it wouldn't bother her. Maybe.

Thistle gave an exasperated look at the ball she caught. "How boring. For being the essence of someone, couldn't they be a tad more differentiated? At least a bit of a different shade of white from the rest of them? Maybe transparent? These are souls damnit!"

What? It wasn't as if she was above _playing_ with the soul. Sure, she felt guilty for making her monster take it, but who could say they played with a **soul** in their hands?

Damn, but it felt invigorating! Sick, but still awesome. Despite her criticism she could hardly look away from the glowing orb. The pure power radiating from the object was almost breathtaking in its majesty.

Just looking at the soul was enough to make her feel ill, remembering the way Charley embraced those people and drew out their souls from their bodies. The first time she saw Charley in action was a real shocker. She was embarrassed to admit that her more mischievous nature managed to shine through when she was caught off guard.

(What the… Cool! Damned creepy, but I wanna know how to do that! Hey! CHARLEY! SHOW ME HOW TO DO THAT! I NEED TO GET BACK AT THAT ASSHOLE FROM THE MALL! HEY!)

The end result of her mission was a run away dog, an unattended baby carriage rolling down the road, twenty-two students screaming like banshees, women running around chanting prayers, men drooling on the ground, and a bird shitting on a bald guy.

Well, she couldn't take credit for the bird, but it was sure funny as hell.

Despite the hilarity of the situation, Thistle couldn't help but feel a sort of tug in her gut, almost making her sick. She instinctively knew the tug was Charley. You know, for knowing one another for less than a day it was amazing how in tuned she and Charley were, but she could just feel how much pain poor Charley felt for what he was doing.

She could just feel her monster's shared shame and reluctance from a block away. _It was sacrilegious_, she felt something instinctive within her scream, _it must be returned_.

How can she? Circe assigned this mission to her; it had to be done.

**Why did she **_**have **_**to do it? She isn't obligated to stay in any way! Besides, she isn't the only apprentice Circe has in her disposal! Let one of them do it!**

She was the only one capable of fulfilling the mission, besides she wasn't ready to leave yet—she still had so much left to learn before she could leave.

**That was bull and she knew it!**

In true Thistle fashion, she decided arguing with a voice in her head was something to avoid at all times and decided to ignore it.

Thistle gave a sigh as she began the spell on a civilian, turning her into a demon. Despite her initial ideas of using him for petty revenge she couldn't help but sense a sort of hesitation in him. Looking at him long enough she felt a connection with him, sharing his guilt of taking those souls.

_All from people that deserved it_, her more demonic half whispered seductively_, they were rude and were weak, weaklings are fodder for the strong_.

Thistle bit her lip in a rare moment of total seriousness and sobriety.'As humans, don't they have inherit value though?'

She didn't receive an answer.

She gave Charley a sad look from the opposite side of the street, ignoring the ensuing commotion of combat around her. They were very much alike, kin almost. Much like her he couldn't help his nature and was compelled to do things he may feel were wrong. In that respect, both were in similar positions, so much so she wondered in a moment of clarity who exactly was the master of her fate. She barely felt in control of her own actions anymore, who was to say that joining Circe was really what she would have done before? It was so hard to even remember what she was like before her transformation.

She was sure that as much as she would never have been a hero, she never imagined herself as a villainess either. There were just lines she would never cross, lines a villain had no issues breaking—in fact some were psychotic and would skip over them with relish and a wide smile. She sure as shit would never be a hero, but there was still a line she couldn't make herself cross for anything.

So, who was she now? Was she the same person as before? Was this truly what she wanted for herself?

In the back of her mind Thistle heard a laugh, mocking and chilling. She sometimes heard this laugh during the day, but also recently started to occur in her sleep. She was really, really starting to become very irritated by it.

Thistle gave a scowl, feeling hot anger coursing through her in waves. What the hell? Even in _attempting _to think about what she was doing gave her no peace? Damn it!

But hearing that laugh reminded her of her decision. She _chose_ this path, ergo she accepted that she would be doing morally ambiguous things. She was aware she was a pawn to the villains, but what other choice was there but to help them? The moment she was approached by them was the moment her fate was sealed.

She just had to accept that—but she _didn't want to!_

A sudden headache crept up on her and she gave a frustrated groan. Interestingly, as fast as it came it was gone, but leaving Thistle in a serious case of vertigo. When the sickness passed Thistle shook her head and gave a feral look at the nearest Vanguard.

'Where was the fun in thinking about this stuff and being all depressed?' She thought, 'it's no fun at all and it wasn't going to make her money or do anything exciting, now was it?' Thistle flew into battle, feeling her blood sing for the defeat of her enemies.

Thistle felt her heart beat faster in anticipation and excitement. 'It didn't necessarily _hurt_ those people,' she argued to herself and grinned as she punched a Vanguard, nearly decapitating him. 'As long as they got their souls back within a day or so they would be fine.'

All her guilt and moral inquiries pushed to the back burner of _Never Touch Again, _Thistle prepared a large energy blast. What the hell? It's not like she was suited for deep thinking anyway and she knew the kind of person she was.

Undoubtedly these people would be ok.

Unleashing energy blasts into the crowds of enemies around her, she gave a wicked laugh. The 'good guys' would get their souls back anyway. Despite Circe and their plans working, those kill-joys always seemed to come out on top somehow. Like clockwork.

They were annoying like that.

Laughter echoed in her head as she leapt to her next victims. Stubbornly, she ignored the small, inconsequential voice in the back of her mind in favor of giving a high kick at the nearest Vanguard and sending it flying into a building.

'What if things don't turn out all right this time around?'

Smash!

'All those people; I want fun but not for people to be hurt.'

Punch! In the back of her mind, a brief whisper inaudible to the sounds of the ensuing battle and chilling laughter.

'_I don't want to do this.'_

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**If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review! :)**_  
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**Thank you to Guest for pointing out the grammar mistake I made, I fixed it now. :D**


	7. In Which Meru Makes Her Debut!

**CHAPTER 4: In Which Meru Makes Her Debut! One Disorientation After Another!**

**Azhure: We make no money or profit from this. All characters belong to either the DC Universe or their own creators. If you like them and want them please ask first. We do not want to use thumb screws.**

**SBIND: If you would like to submit your own character creations to us, we can try to incorporate them into the story in a small way-we do have an overarching story and would like to branch out a little, but also stay within bounds. If you are interested to see what we can do with them, we have a profile template for you to fill out. I will explain the details in an PM. Just ask.  
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* * *

_I knew this was a bad idea!_ Meru thought as the room seemed to tilt and swirl around her. As a result, Meru found it hard to focus on the apparently good looking hunk sitting across from her. _Of all times for me to get a cold!_ The now brunette had never once been sick in the last four years and on what was supposed to be a wonderful lunch date with (that nice neighbor, her mother's words), what happens?

"So, I bounced for awhile and... You ok?" Meru blinked at the absurdity of the question and refrained from snapping , 'Do I look alright?!' Since the neighbor was very cute and extremely nice to her parents by helping maintain their yard once every week, Meru breathed in and out and shook her head, going for honesty.

"Yea, it's my-my allergies." Meru gestured to her head, "It's horrible for me this time of year." Hunk nodded sagely, as if he knew all about the evilness of pollen, "My mom gets those, though its only in a certain state."

Meru smiled at the attempt of humor and then grimaced once more, barely holding back a groan as her vision swam. _Something's wrong._ Meru could feel it in her blood, a twisting and churning of her gut that was not usual when she usually had allergies. "I think, I should go home."

Meru moved to rise and almost fell again when Hunk stood up to grab her, and held her close. _Too warm._ His skin felt like an inferno against hers. His embrace uncomfortable though not unwelcome, as Meru's legs were about to give out. "I'm sorry."

Hunk patted her shoulder consolingly, "No, its fine. I'm sorry I pressed your mom into introducing us." His voice took on a bashful tone, "I've been wanting to talk to you for awhile now."

Meru's face took on an uncomfortable hue colored blush, but was more than pleased by his words. "W-would you take me home then? We-we could watch a movie at my place or-or just talk..." She wasn't quite sure how one acted in these situations as she had never really dated much.

Yes, Meru was social, but she coud never get the knack for much romance. It seemed a rather silly topic to worry about in school. At the end of the day, while her friends went off with their lovers and intended's, Meru was by herself. Studying, always.

A rumble of a deep chuckle and Meru's face flushed further at how pleasant it sounded. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." With an arm round her waist and Meru clutching onto his they began the journey to the door of the cafe.

That's when the air raid sirens rang throughout the afternoon sky. A sound like a bomb dropping sounded down the street, blowing the windows of the cafe in. Glass, tables and chairs blew in a whirlwind of chaos among the screams and cries of panicking civilians.

Meru, herself, was thrown behind the cashier counter and laid there for just a minute, not sure if she was dead or alive. When the pain in her head became too great she opened her eyes to see the horrific sight of a mechanical insect twice as tall as any man alive.

"Freeze, inferior humans!" It droned in a horrible mechanical voice, the whirrings of its limbs clicking on the rubbled tile of the store. "All of you will be slaves for Brainiac!" Then a golden glow began forming round Meru's frightened body, further paralysing her as the walls of the golden ball crept up.

"Let her go!" A table leg was raised and smashed over the mechanical monster's swelled head, much resembling its maker. Meru blinked wide as her date of the day began bashing at the thing once more, with a chair. "Get away from her!"

"Resistance is futile." The ray of gold stunned her brave hero and knocked him into the other side of the wall. Meru cried out in dismay and tried to stand as the monster moved on its immobile prey. "All will be for Brainiac!"

As the paralysing ray materialized, everything around Meru seemed to happen in slow motion as the brunette finally stood. The dizzyng sense of something within her body molding together, blending in with what was already there and snapping it to life, gave her the strength to try and save her one time knight.

So when Meru reached her hand out to scream for the monster to stop, a blast of ice danced across her fingertips instead and froze the tin can inside a block of crystal. For a few scant seconds Meru stared uncomprehendingly at the pillar and its captive within. Then a tidal wave of excrutiating pain swept up her spine and Meru blacked out, her head buzzing with more than just questions.

When Meru had finally woken up, she believed the entire ordeal to be a dream. A horrible one. So she had pushed the blankets from her over warmed person. _These are awful thin to be mine_. Meru thought before sitting up.

The excrutiating pain in her spine throbbed in a sadistic tempo causing her to cry out from it. Meru's shoulders felt like they were on fire, the muscles aching and burning from sheer agony. With shaking hands, Meru reached behind her trying to find the source.

Had that thing landed an attack? Shrapnel, maybe? Was she hooked up like some kind of experiment? Confused and disoriented, her mind filled with all sorts of atrocious things she had ever seen in horror movies. Had Brianiac's machine caught her and now he was using her as a lab rat?

_Maybe I'm being used for some kind of impregnating experiment?!_

This thought was quickly followed by, _Oh hell no! He's going to have to marry me first! _Then Meru quickly tried to scrabble off what she thought to be a consummating bed. _No wonder it was so damn comfy!_

Something pulled on the skin of her right arm, but in Meru's distress this went unnoticed and the I.V that had been innocently drugging her fell out. The heart monitor began to let out a silent alarm that something was amiss with the patient. Or the patient was so drugged that said patient thought themselves invincible and were now roaming the halls.

Meru's eyes, bright and dilated pupils, glued themselves to the bay window that was now overlooking the giant sphere of Earth. "Oooh, pretty!" And like a child at Christmas eagerly went to reach out to it.

Behind her a door opened and a shadowy figure walked inside. "I see you have awakened, Miss." The male voice startled Meru into turning round. There standing bold as brass was a man who did not look like a man. At least not a human. Meru's brain stopped.

"I'm relieved that you are awake, but you should allow your body to rest more." The green skinned alien spoke in a factoral monologue, red eyes taking in the stunned petrification in tawny gold eyes. They changed quickly to furious and determined.

_Why me?_

The battle cry was loud and completely unnecessary, in the Martian's opinion, but not quite so loud as the panicked thoughts of the unrestrained female patient. The thoughts both stunned him and warmed his face horribly, long enough for the disoriented woman to grab the metal I.V rod and take a swing at him.

"And that is why we do not give drugs to Meru." J'onn J'onzz, Martian Manhunter and Justice League Stormwatch member, recited to an enthralled Flash and an appalled Booster Gold. They were all staring at a heavily bandaged, garoyle-esque woman with silvery blue hair, stating how shiny everythng was.

Martian Manhunter sighed in a depreciating manner completely unlike him. _Why me?_

* * *

**Hi folks! I'm Azhure and this is my character Meru from DCUO. I must apologize not only to all the readers but to my one of my best friends as well. My schedule is a bit different from hers so its difficult for us to meet and choreograph this. **

**I should be able to do more with Meru and I will be helping with requests and such for this fic. You know who you are, lol. Thank you for your support as we are both a bit rusty at writing fanfics.**

**And now a few words from my Mistr-I mean Slave Drive- I mean Best friend!**

**SBIND: *suspicious glare* Thank you for all your help, we will most definately be working again **_**soon.**_** *mad grin***

**Azhure: *Sweatdrops* Yes, my Lady, please not the whips.**


	8. Chapter 5: A Wolf in Smart Clothing

Greetings! I am evolution-500 and my characters are Lupo and Malecoda. I'll be

helping out with this story as much as I can, provided that I don't have a

busy schedule. If you have any questions or concerns about this chapter, feel

free to leave a comment.

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: WOLF IN SMART CLOTHING!**

"REPORTING TO YOU LIVE! AND! WASTEEEED!" the maniac shouted, holding his beer can in the air before resuming in a normal voice, "Welcome to another beautiful morning here in Little Bohemia, Metropolis, folks! Another day, another mild display of gratuitous violence!"

"Wow, there's a real turn out today, Malecoda! Look at all these characters gathered here! Can they take on the powerhouse that is Bizarro?!"

"It is very exciting and-"

He paused as bones cracked loudly, causing both him and his companion to cringe, "OHHHHH HO HO HO! THAT had to hurt!"

Seated comfortably on a pair of lawn chairs in front of a small craggy apartment complex near the General Hospital, two figures watched the battle with amusement, each with a beer in hand. Two of the oddest, and arguably most lethal, of friends and enemies, Malecoda and Lupo were the likes of which Metropolis had never seen; their appearances and personalities were as contradictory as night and day. Pausing in his sip, the former cast a glance down to his own person, repulsed by what he saw. With his small dirty and wrinkled black leather jacket, clothes and boots hanging off of his frightening 300-centimeter skeletal frame, he looked like something that hell had chewed up and crapped out, so at odds with how he looked when he had been human.

When I had been human...

Unconsciously reaching up to his face, his hand stopped as it pressed longingly onto the black motorcyclist's helmet, his fingers lingering on its surface. When he was a youth, he was gorgeous. Girls had flocked to him by the droves, and with his charms, he had put those good looks to work.

'A lot of hearts were broken,' Malecoda thought wistfully. Now, things have changed. Encasing his entire head, with a visor completely hiding his features, it also sported a series of hoses from underneath, leading to a large canister strapped to his back. The last person to have seen his face had a look of absolute terror before he had been killed to satisfy the excruciating pain in his belly.

"What are you doing?" a voice demanded.

Pulling his hand back, Malecoda shook his head, along with all those unpleasant memories.

"It's nothing, just remembering the old days." he answered before slipping the straw underneath his visor.

His companion stared hard at him, turning away only moments later to seemingly focus on the battle before them. Without moving his head, Malecoda studied the young man sitting next to him through his visor with resentment.

A teenager no older than eighteen and 185 centimeters in height, he was no less an oddity, though one would have to be scrupulous in order to detect the cheat. Wearing an expensive red dress suit, black formal shirt and shoes of immaculate condition, they hugged his slender and smoothly muscled form. His face, a feature that Malecoda himself was incredibly envious of, was handsome with a striking sharpness. From its raised cheekbones, chiseled jaw, pronounced chin and sharp yet straight nose, along with the thick neatly trimmed black mane of hair with slight sideburns close to each ear, he looked like a wolf that had been forcefully yet carefully fitted into human skin. With the brim of his red fedora keeping his features shadowed, at a glance he would have been able to pass off as normal, an achievement that made Malecoda bitter each time he thought about it. What made his features undeniably inhuman, though, was the ghostly white skin with intricate black axe head-like markings surrounding brilliantly red eyes. Devoid of either pupils or whites, they shone like rubies.

Together, they must come across as jarringly weird. Indeed, even their friendship, or utter rivalry depending on the time of day one would ask them, was something of a mismatch in the cosmos.

On most days, he and his companion wanted nothing to do with each other due to how much they loathed one another. Today, though, was a slight exception. This was one of those days where they would simply say "hey, what the hell?", pop open an 8 pack and just amuse themselves with the stupidity that would occur around them.

Currently, they were playing the role of announcers, watching and cheering as Bizarro kicked the shit out of a collection of assorted costumed characters.

Malecoda tsked with distaste as he studied each individual. From their behaviors, movements, techniques and coordination, or lack thereof, they fell into one of three categories: rookies, amateurs, and wannabe heroes.

Rookies were heroes that were officially recognized as being apart of the Justice League, but their inexperience, lack of discipline and finesse would often get them into trouble.

Amateurs referred to some of the myriad rejects and other vigilantes that wanted no part of the League, preferring to take on crime on their own terms. For the most part, they were an incompetent sort, mostly of the human and psychotic variety with questionable methods, like leaving a bag of burning dog crap at the foot of a gangster's home.

And finally, there were the wannabes, a collection of super-powered twits that got dressed up to fight crime not so much out of any sense of moral obligation, but because they were narcissist bastards hoping to get the League's attention and membership.

'Like me.' the thought came with displeasure.

As more costumes joined, Malecoda started to vocalize cartoonish sound effects whenever one of them was hit by the demented Superman clone; one hero, a big dude who looked like he was made from granite, was given an uppercut. Malecoda let out a long whistle as he sailed far into the distance, both he and Lupo following after his diminishing form with their gazes.

"Damn! I think he just left orbit!" he laughed.

Lupo laughed with him, shaking his head, "This is just too sad to watch."

"Whatever happened to the good ole days when there were actual heroes?" the helmeted figure lamented.

"Probably a bad crop this year." came the reply.

"YOU ASSES COULD HELP US!" a small figure in a green cape, some Robin rip-off, shouted in annoyance, giving them a fixed glare.

Turning to each other to exchange looks, with Lupo raising an eyebrow, they looked back at the figure.

"Nah!" they said at the same time.

Together, they sat and guzzled down can after can. Ducking down as one poor bastard flew into Mrs. Cropley's window, Malecoda turned to his companion. Whether it was the booze speaking, or maybe some scintilla of decency existed within his soul, he started to feel a little uneasy.

"Do you think we should?" he asked.

Lupo shrugged.

"Do what you wish." he replied.

"What about you?"

"I prefer not to waste my talents on morons."

"But you took my case." Malecoda pointed out.

A wry and predatory smile edged itself along his mouth, making him even more lupine in appearance.

"Well, if the price is right, I make exceptions." Lupo answered.

The helmeted man scoffed.

"It's just like you to choose money over those who are helpless." he retorted.

Lupo raised a brow up, dropping the smile.

"'Helpless?' Them? You must have a skewed definition. Haven't you heard the news about the Exobytes?"

"I have, 'Po, but -"

"Then you know that these "helpless" noobs have the strength and powers of every known hero and villain out there."

"This isn't just about money, is it?" Malecoda pressed. "You're studying them, looking for weaknesses in case they decided to go rogue."

"Wouldn't you?" Lupo asked.

"But that's what the League is for."

"And someone has to watch the watchmen." Lupo replied, peering around curiously, "Speaking of which, where are the cops? Why aren't they getting in on this? You would think with this much chaos being spread there would be a blue uniform around."

Malecoda shrugged.

"Coffee break? Maybe they're blocking this area off for the civilians." he suggested before piping up excitedly, "Oh! Look at this! We have newcomers! I think they're villains!"

"Are they?"

He gave a shrug. "Hard to tell these days."

A swarm of costumes came flying toward Bizarro, throwing everything at him, from fireballs and laser beams to missiles, bullets and... bags of flaming dog crap?

The weirdest costume had to be the one that was all sparkly. Malecoda blinked at the sight.

"Hey Lupo, do you see this guy?" he asked.

"Which one?"

"The figure skater/disco ball dude that's so friggin' shiny?"

"Yeah... "

"Who is he?"

Lupo shrugged. "'Sparkle Pants'?"

"Is it really?" the helmeted figure pressed.

"Seriously, with that outfit, what the hell would he be calling himself anyway? Scintillating Fashion Sense?"

Malecoda opened his mouth to respond when "Sparkle Pants" rushed Bizarro head on, slamming his fist into the giant's face before rearing himself back to release a mighty puff of air... in a pink heart shape.

"... Who is this guy?!"

Lupo looked over to one of the closer costumes. "Hey! Hey you!" he called out.

The costume, a diminutive rookie armed with a bow and arrow, dressed in leaves with a green helmet devoid of any features concealing his entire head, pointed to himself questioningly.

"Yeah you, Orchard Man! Come here!"

Slowly approaching the seated figures, he looked at them suspiciously.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"Green Plant, sir."

"Do you know who-" Lupo pointed to the sparkly figure before pausing. "'GREEN PLANT'?!"

The green helmet nodded slowly.

Looking to Malecoda, the two suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Do you see this?" the figure in red pointed, "THIS is the WORST superhero of all time!"

"Hey!" The rookie snapped, placing his hands on his hips, completely unimpressed by the insult.

"Word of advice, dude - when it comes to code-names, pick something that will inspire fear in your enemies."

"There's nothing wrong with it!"

"I beg to differ."

"It was either that or Yellow Dandelion!"

The two-seated figures stared at him.

"Riiiiight."

'Green Plant' huffed with annoyance.

"Whatever! I don't need your approval! I'm a member of the Justice League! Besides, I don't see you two doing anything! Why aren't you even fighting this guy?!"

Lupo sighed with disappointment.

"I had wanted to, but that was before I realized that Bizarro is nothing more than a child. As a rule, I prefer not to fight the mentally stagnant."

"Me, I'm just here because there was nothing else on TV!" the black helmeted figure happily added.

'Green Plant' stared at him. It was hard to tell what his facial expression was, but it was probably formed into a scowl.

"What do you two want?" he demanded impatiently

"Information." Lupo replied, pointing to 'Sparkly Pants,' "Any idea who this guy is? Don't tell me he's part of the League."

The green figure shook his head.

"No clue. I've never seen him before."

Lupo shrugged.

"Oh well." he said before raising up a can in offering. "Want a cold one?"

'Green Plant' hesitated.

"I can't! I... I shouldn't! I'm on duty!" he squawked.

"Oh come on! Take a load off! Just grab a seat! Join the dark side!"

"You know you want to! We've got peanuts!"

For a moment, it looked as if he was ready to give in when a voice called out, "Don' gehve in, boy!"

Turning to the source, the trio caught sight of a large heavy-set man with red hair stomping over to their position. Dressed in an orange leotard with a black cape, the letters "HC" were stenciled in black across the chest. The man's features were overly thick and squarish, making him look more like a steroid-infused parody of the Man of Steel.

"Haow dah yah trah to cowupt duh yung an' inissint'!?" he said in an obnoxiously imperious tone. Lupo blinked.

"Technically speaking I'm under aged, but you do have a point. How careless of me to not ask." he said thoughtfully. "How old are you?"

"... Twenty-four."

"Well, then, my offer stands!"

"Don' even thank of it, boy!" 'Green Plant' flinched at the giant's tone.

"No need to give him the attitude." the man in red replied as he held the can out for the latter. "Besides, I was gonna offer you a drink as well."

The offer was smacked violently out from his hand, slamming it hard into the side of a fence.

"Yah dah to twy cowupt mah?!" the man in orange roared.

Malecoda blinked.

"He was only offering you a drink." he replied.

"An' wot's en et?! Filt' wit' poisin', nah dout!" the big man said haughtily.

The helmeted man shook his head.

"Just beer." he said, trying to figure if the guy spoke with an accent or a lisp.

"Who are you?" his companion asked, not impressed.

The big man puffed his chest out as he began his introduction.

"Ah em juthtith! Ah em da laow! Ah em HAD COAH!" he said boastfully.

The trio turned to look at each other, puzzled by the garbled response.

"Did you understand any of that?" Malecoda asked the other two men.

"No... " Green Plant said slowly.

"I speak eight languages, Mal, and I didn't even get what he said." Lupo replied.

The helmeted figure looked back to the big man.

"Sorry, can you repeat?"

"Ah em Had Coah, an' ah em da laow!"

""... 'You have a hot coal and you're low'?" Lupo interpreted.

"AH EM HAD COAH AN' AH EM DA LAOW!"

"'Lao'? You're Chinese?" the seated figure in red said with surprise.

"AH AIN'T A CHINK, YA DUM BATHTURD!"

Malecoda blinked underneath his helmet. Wow, what a racist bugger. Beside him, Lupo smirked.

"Wow! 'Bathturd'! I gotta admit, I was called a lot of things, but this is a first." he laughed.

The big man just stared at him angrily. He looked like he was ready to smash anyone within close proximity, causing 'Green Plant' to back warily away.

"AH! EM! HAD COAH! AN' AH! EM! DA LAOW!"

Malecoda saw impatience etch itself onto Lupo's face. The teenager was usually calm and collected, but listening to this obnoxious jerk seemed to be wearing on his nerves, a feat that only Malecoda himself was capable of.

"What do you want, 'Had Cod' or whatever your name is?" he asked.

"Yah'we unda awetht!"

"I think I might've understood that one, 'Po."

"Same here." he replied as he looked back to the giant. "For what?"

The jerk opened his mouth, his features scrunching up. Despite his telepathic abilities, Malecoda didn't have to read his mind in order to tell that this guy was not versed in law. Finally settling on something, the big man roared loudly, "FAWR DITHWEPTIN' MAH ATHOWITATH!"

Lupo smirked.

"See this, Mal? Proof of reincarnation! Stalin has returned!"

"WADDYASAY?!"

"Whoa! Easy, dude." the helmeted figure said in a placating manner. "Would it help if I massaged your nipples?"

Four fun things happened in sequential order. The first were the perplexed looks on the faces of all within hearing distance. The second was the response from the big man's fist (WHAM!). The third was the response from his brain (WHAT WAS THAT?!), while the fourth response came from the side of his head (OWWWIEEEE!).

'Sweet death here I come!' Malecoda thought as he and Lupo were backhanded from their seats, sending them flying into the side of the building.

...

Lupo groaned as he rolled over onto his back. "'Would it help if I massaged your nipples'?!" he said to the helmeted moron with disbelief.

Malecoda shrugged.

"It just suddenly slipped!"

Pushing himself off the ground, the red-suited teen dusted himself off and reached for his fedora.

"Whoever that faggot is, I'm gonna-"

"Hard Core, what are you doing?!" a female voice said in a reprimanding tone.

Looking up, the teen's brain stopped as he saw a gorgeous red-headed hottie with tanned skin. In her late teens to early twenties, she wore a pair of blue bikini bottoms and a see through shirt that left little to the imagination. From the accent, the woman came from the south, Georgia most likely.

"Whoa." Malecoda breathed. "You see this?"

"Yeah."

"How the hell hasn't she been arrested yet?"

A smirk etched itself onto Lupo's face.

"I don't know, Mal, but thank god for small miracles." he replied.

Walking toward her, he watched as she's joined by another tanned figure, a panther chick with ears at the top of her head dressed in black skimpy clothing consisting of a small shirt and shorts that seemed way too tight. Studying each figure as they gave the giant the scolding of his life, Lupo took the time to inhale their scents as a precaution. After all, one could never be too careful. While the big man smelled of sweat and ham, the woman, in contrast had more of a vanilla flavor, albeit from a cheaper brand of perfume. The panther chick, though, smelled considerably more pleasing, a rich jasmine with a hint of peaches, possible Cashmere. Looking at her with interest, he studied every curve to his delight, only to scowl at the discovery of a wedding band on her finger.

"Shit." he muttered.

...

Candice was really unimpressed at the moment. Ever since he had gotten those powers, her brother just had to throw his weight around. It wasn't enough that he decided to dress up in a stupid costume and to disguise his voice in such a way that he sounded absolutely retarded, but ever since his new-found powers, he was nothing but a pain in the ass. She had to issue too many apologies to too many people for him, and she couldn't stand it.

"Shit."

Upon hearing that, she and Catlady broke their gazes away from "Hard Core" to see a young man dressed in red, his features partially hidden by a red fedora.

"Buongiorno." He greeted.

God don't let this be another reporter, or worse a potential litigant.

Hesitating, she waved back in greeting. "Hi. He hasn't been bothering you, has he?" she asked with concern.

"He smacked me into a wall." he said dryly.

Her eyes widened. Goddamn it.

"Oh no! I am so sorry about that! He has a tendency of getting into trouble." she said.

"I know the feeling." he replied, looking over to a helmeted man wearing incredibly filthy clothes as he sat himself back into his chair and guzzled down his beer through a straw.

Turning back to face her, he took off his fedora and held it to his chest as he gave a courteous bow.

"Name's Lupo."

Watching as he raised himself up, Candice stared at him. Though he had finely handsome features in a dark and wolfish sort of way, the alabaster skin, black hair and markings were the first off-putting details that made her hesitate. The most off-putting aspects, though, that made her especially nervous were his eyes; cold, calculating blood-colored orbs that stared with an unusual intensity for one so young, taking in every single detail of both her person and the environment around them.

'Like eyes of a corpse.' she thought nervously before she found the ability to speak, "I'm Stripper."

Raising a hairless brow, the man gave her a curious look.

She frowned. Oh God, not again.

"That's not my occupation!" she explained. "It's my name. Candice Stripper."

"Ah."

Gesturing to her companions, she continued, "This is Catlady."

The panther woman grunted in acknowledgement.

"And I believe you met my brother Hard Core." she said as the big man glared at him hatefully.

"Ahhh, so that's what you're name was." Lupo said thoughtfully.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Candice queried, pointing to the helmeted figure chugging beer after beer in his seat. He looked painfully skinny, like those starving African children she would see in those telemarketed charities.

"He's not a friend." he said to her surprise.

"... Lover?"

"Hell no!" He spat with disgust.

"... Then what is he?"

"A client... although he has now elevated himself to the status of hemorrhoid." he muttered the last part under his breath. "Due to his... condition, I believe it best if you don't meet him."

Candice blinked.

"'Condition?' What's wrong with him?" she asked with concern.

"It's nothing that you should concern yourself with." he waved her off. Tilting his head to side, the red-suited figure turned to face her. "So, what brings you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked as she gestured to Bizarro, who was in the process of beating some poor bastard repeatedly over the head with another like a club, "We're here to get the bounty on him."

"I take it you're not with the Justice League, then?"

"No, but we would like to."

Lupo crossed his arms.

"So this is supposed to be your audition piece?"

Candice shook her head.

"Not really. It's mainly for business. We run a bar around here called The Blue Dolphin, but the bills are just piling up."

The man in red perked up with interest.

"'The Blue Dolphin,' you say?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, it's just a block from here, around the corner."

"Hm."

Candice nervously watched as Lupo tilted his chin down, deep in thought. She wondered what sort of gears were turning around in there as Catlady spoke up, "So, what is it that you do, Mr. Lupo?"

His lips broke into a slight smile.

"Just Lupo. I'm what you would call 'an ethical soldier of fortune.'" When he said the last part, he had this amused look, as if he had told some private joke that Candice was unaware of.

She raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Exactly what it means."

Catlady narrowed her eyes.

"You're a mercenary?"

The man in red smirked at the word as he brushed off some unseen dust from his expensive suit. "Don't be ridiculous, mercenaries are outlawed here. No, I go where there's money, my dear. Private investigator, antiques dealer, bodyguard, fighter, if you can provide some expensive and legitimate form of legal tender, or offer items that could guarantee a profit, I can be whatever you want me to be." he said, his voice silky and seductive. Pausing thoughtfully, he added, "Provided that it's legal, of course."

"In other words you're a hustler." Candice summed up in an unimpressed tone.

He shrugged.

"We're all hustlers in a way." he replied, before narrowing his eyes at her. "Now, as a law-abiding man, I believe in the concept of making restitution. I believe some form of compensation should be in order."

The trio gawked at him.

"You have got to be joking!"

"I never joke when it comes to money."

Hard Core stepped threateningly forward.

"Ya wottin' PUNK!" he growled.

"Back off, Hard Core. Let's hear what he has to say." Candice said before turning her eyes back to him. "Be warned, though - if I don't like what comes out of your mouth, I'll let him handle you."

Lupo scoffed.

"'Handle me'? My dear, that sounds like a threat. I'm the best there is at what I do, and that's making a killing."

Though the double-meaning was obvious and he made no threatening movements, Candice felt a barely veiled aura of menace surrounding the smirking red-dressed figure, the kind of aura that would make heads turn and shudder, the sort of reaction one would find in the presence of a very dangerous animal. Looking to her companions nervously, she wasn't the only one to have noticed.

As quickly as it was suggested, it disappeared as he continued, "But enough about that. Option A, you pay me $1500."

Candice's mouth dropped.

"That's crazy!" she squawked. "Like hell I'm gonna pay that!"

"My sentiments exactly," he nodded in agreement, adding with that arrogant smirk, "which is why I suggest Option B, I take you for dinner."

"DAT'S IT! YA'HR DEAD!" Hard Core roared angrily as he prepared to strike.

"Let me finish!" Lupo said sharply, causing him to falter, to Candice's surprise.

Watching as Hard Core settled down, he turned back to face her.

"As I was saying, Option B is that I take you out for dinner. No hokey pokey, no funny business of any kind - just two people starting from scratch, taking the time to get to know one another, and maybe even enjoy each other's company. In return, I'll clear off all of your debts and offer you my services against Bizarro."

She stared with shock.

"You're serious?"

"I am."

"How do we know you'll keep your word?" Catlady asked suspiciously.

His eyes narrowed.

"My word is my bond." came the reply as he held his hand in offering. "Do we have a deal?"

Candice stared at his hand, hesitating.

'Well, at least he's not suing us,' came the thought as she grabbed his hand.

Giving a hard shake, Candice saw the corners of his mouth lift up, reforming into a sharp-toothed smirk.

"A date it is, then." he said.

He turned around and swaggered confidently over to the helmeted figure that was slumped down in his chair.

"HEY!" she heard him say sharply, giving a hard kick to his chair.

The helmeted man sputtered and snorted.

"What?! WHAT?!" he said impatiently.

"Get up, Malecoda." Lupo said with a smirk. "We got a job to do."

As she watched him help his companion up, Candice wondered if she had made some sort of terrible mistake.

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**SBIND: Hey guys, thanks for letting me know of the errors in the chap-I have taken your suggestions and done the updates. :)**

**You guys rock, just sayin'. Like always, we appreciate any and all criticism. We aim to please!**


	9. In Which The Immobile and Demoness Clash

SBIND: Hello all, our apologies for the late chapter – we have both been diagnosed with obsession with Night of the Rabbit disease. Both of us are experiencing the symptoms of delusions of magician grandeur and being completely sidetracked from other pursuits.

However, after three weeks we wrote our parts and finally decided how to end this chapter we were eager to get out.

Unfortunately I am not with AS as I work on finalizing the draft, so she cannot leave a note.

In response to a question by FARTMONKEY, I don't have a chapter planned but I did want a chap with alter egos. It might be a while though.

Enjoy!

PS! Thanks to Evolution-500 I have updated this chapter and it should flow better. I appreciate any criticism and input! :)

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**Chapter 6: In Which Thistle Is Bored and Meru Gets An Unpleasant First Impression**

'It's been two months.' The sad thought drizzled down like the rain on the rough skin of the ice gargoyle woman, Mystic Meru. 'Two months since I got bit by that Exobyte and my life got turned around.'

Meru sighed from her crouched position, wondering how to get herself out of this slump on a random roof in Gotham city. After all, whining and crying about things was never something Meru did on a habitual level. Indeed there were some perks to the job of being a Hero.

'Like freezing Booster Gold's espresso.' Meru remembered fondly, it was just as her comrade had been about to drink the steamy beverage that she froze it from behind him. That would certainly would be the last time he taped Meru in a delirious state and upload the footage broadcasting it around the League headquarters!

'The conniving little-' Meru breathed in and then out, mildly fascinated as the falling drops froze in contact with her breath.

The frozen drops hit the peacefully walking umbrellas below Meru's crouched vantage point, some civilians looked up and stared in aew before hurrying to the safety of their homes while others paid little to no attention towards to things happening around them. All was well in their home of Gotham, so why should they worry?

'Wasn't like three streets down there is a Brainiac Incursion zone. Oh no, heaven forbid!' Meru thought sarcastically.

Two months ago, Meru would have thought the same thing as those civilians. She certainly could never have seen herself battling someone like Giganta and Circe or fighting alongside Wonder Woman and Supergirl. Meru had a pretty sweet occupation, but sometimes she missed her old life too.

At the tiniest bite of some futuristic parasite, a once ordinary human had been changed irreparably. Making Meru's skin paler and tough enough to withstand bullets. Sprouting great bat-like wings from her shoulder blades and a long reptilian tail from her lower back. Changing the color of her hair to a crystal blue and eyes a tawny gold.

Meru knew what she looked like, a humanoid gargoyle, and though she never would have to worry about finding a Halloween costume she was still different. Like Hawkgirl or Martian Manhunter, Meru could never integrate herself with society. She would always be an outcast, a lone wolf, because of how she now looked.

The overwhelming pity fest brought forth the tears Meru had repressed that first night of her transformation. The warmth of them cooled on her cheeks until they froze and formed small icicles that slid down her pale cheeks mixing in with the Gotham rain.

"And what is a pretty thing like you with a dark cloud over your head? How 'bout putting those wings to use?" Before Meru could see the voice behind her, she felt strong hands give her a violent shove, pushing her clear off the roof. Unseen by Meru, Thistle floated on the roof with a large grin.

Flailing in midair, Meru barely processed that she had instinctively righted herself in her free-fall. This was a six story building, if she didn't have wings or knew how to fly she would have been a splatter on the concrete! Pity was quickly replaced with hot anger as Meru flew to the roof.

Seeing Thistle flicking under her nails nonchalantly Meru gritted her teeth and shot twin glares at the mischievous sorceress. "You bitch! I could have DIED!"

Thistle didn't even look up from her inspection of her nails, they look like they need a manicure soon—was that a chip in her nail!? Damnit, Circe was going to pay for that!

At a huff of frustration Thistle looked up at Meru who looked just about ready to swing her massive hammer at her head. Where did she hid that thing? Ignoring the strange sight Thistle gave a cheeky grin, "Well, you looked like you needed a good_ push_ in the right direction." Thistle said as she gave a flippant shrug and purposely ignored the sudden drop in temperature around her. "And here I thought all of Gotham's gargoyles were immobile."

Oh, that was it!

Meru pulled forth her hammer and rushed forward with a cry of rage, "I'll show you immobile!"

Thistle flew back, avoiding the hammer that proceeded to make a large crater on the roof. Curious! Thistle eyed the damage with intrigue, 'Hmm, was that from her power, the weight of the hammer, or just shitty building materials?' Curiosity peeked; Thistle casually caught the hammer as it was swung once again at her head. Meru's eyes widened, 'She caught my hammer!'

Taking advantage of the moment of surprise, Thistle used the hammer to vault herself over Meru and kicked her from behind. "You sure you're not? Barely felt that one!"

What burned was she didn't even use her flight power, just athletics. The woman was mocking her!

Burning with irritation and rage, Meru again made a pass at Thistle with her hammer, but missed again.

Thistle gave an exaggerated yawn, "Too slow!" She said as she dodged a vertical swing,

"Here, why not just chill out? It's all good-not like you would have gotten hurt-being stone and all." Thistle commented in a mock innocent way, visibly pleased when Meru tensed at her jab.

Meru's eyes turned frigid, her hands squeezing her Amazonian mallet until her knuckles white. Oh, that does it. This bitch was going down!

An icy wind gathered in the air around both her and the demoness.

Slamming her hammer into the roof, the first chunk of ice flowed from Meru's body through her hammer and into the cemented rooftop in an upward angle. The burst covered the area upon which both stood. Sharp points of ice made to stab at those who got to close. It was a defensive attack, but Meru could make do with a surprise attack.

Her feet skated on the thin sheen of ice, twisting and dodging. Using her wings as sails and her tail as an anchor Meru honed in on her target, mallet raised for a side ways attack.

Thistle gave an impressed look at Meru, feeling the first kindling of respect. 'Well, what do you know, this girl's got some skills' she thought as she observed the ice wielding stone woman. Ice was a rather difficult magic to control if Thistle recalled correctly. Elements were often difficult to control and master; they were also very spasmodic if used improperly. But the chill seemed to have focus and deep control, tightly restricted even.

It seems to control over her magic to the degree that she did she would never allow herself to lose control over the effects it would have in the environment. This control would have taken years to develop… Meru certainly had an intriguing power.

But her tight control would make this fight so _boring!_ Magic isn't supposed to be so restricted!

'Time to shaken things up again,' she gave a mocking grin and summoned Charlie. "Well," Thistle mocked, "Not bad. Ice magic is rather difficult to control. Although, I can't say I'm too impressed."

Without a word, Meru struck!

Thistle flew out of the path of the hammer, her trench coat just barely missing the swing. Thistle gave a concealed shiver as she watched the icicles hit the building behind her and leaf massive indents and loosened bricks fell thirteen stories down. That, and the ends of her coat that came into contact with the mallet seemed to have frozen over.

Incredible…

Undeterred, but wary of Meru's power, Thistle saw Meru approaching too fast for her to dodge. Narrowing her eyes, Thistle gave an excited smirk, raising her hand and summoned her twin blades.

Then the clash.

It was a vortex of color, a violent kaleidoscope of dark swirls and sharp points of light as the two super humans battled above the once peaceful Gotham neighborhood. As civilians stood watching in stunned silence the horrific beauty that lit the night sky above them. And still the rain fell.

Meru used this to her advantage to summon more of her ice magic to aid her in putting down this she devil who had deemed the ice wielder an easy target. 'I'll show you, Sorceress! I haven't trained for nothing!'

Thistle felt her blood howling, practically begging for her to defeat her opponent. She had never felt this amount of joy before, there was finally an opponent that would give her a good time.

Letting loose a yell of battle, Thistle launched herself headfirst toward the approaching Meru.

Time seemed to slow down as both super-powered beings charged at one another, ice dancing around Meru as sentient wisps while Thistle's magical aura surrounded her body, cloaking her body in a faint shimmer of shifting magic. From an outsiders' point of view, these two looked like demigods-warriors of great and terrible power that hungered to devour the world.

However, that on looker would notice something odd that would miss Meru and Thistle's attention.

There was a spark as the two powers collided, creating brief but faint bursts of light. So focused were they in their battle that they failed to notice the erratic nature of their powers.

Until they were close enough to touched.

Both were incased in a blinding light.


End file.
